Pretty good but not the next Blade Runner

Rating: 6/10 (13 August 2005)

This was a lot better than expected -- a good summer movie with a great cast. McGregor and Johansson have believable chemistry and are able to carry a really stylish updated version of Logan's Run, with Buscemi taking on Ustinov's former place in a familiar story of the clash between the synthetic future and the gritty but redeeming aspects of human reality. There are also nods here to other classics -- Blade Runner, Matrix, the Terminator films and even Crichton's Coma. The film stands apart not only because it follows the style of the newer generation of sci fi films like AI, I Robot and Minority Report, but also because it makes ironic and effective self-referential twists on that more recent style. The rocking action scenes are heart-pounding, but with such a great cast, it's too bad Michael Bay didn't forgo some action and let his actors explore some deeper depths in this story.